


With a Little Help From My Friends

by shessocold



Series: I Told I'd Always Love You, I Always Did, I Always Will [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Best Friends, Fluff, Friendship, Getting to Know Each Other, Hogwarts, M/M, Marauders, Marauders Friendship, Marauders' Era, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Werewolf Remus Lupin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-11 04:05:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13516236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shessocold/pseuds/shessocold
Summary: Remus and Sirius become friends.





	With a Little Help From My Friends

To Remus' dismay, reading between the lines of his characteristically cheerful reply, his father doesn't sound entirely too pleased with the news Remus has shared about the Sorting and the other boys in his dormitory.

_... I know about the Potters – they're very nice people – and I am really glad that you and James get to share a room! I don't want you getting too close to that Black boy, though, Remus. If he takes after the rest of his family, I expect you will soon enough find out for yourself why it wouldn't be a good idea for you to give him too much confidence. Take my word for it, in the meanwhile, and let us hope that James comes around and sees that you're a much better candidate for the role of one's best friend, anyway. I've never heard of the Pettigrews, but Peter sounds like a lot of fun!_

_Mum says that she's shocked that you would get sorted into anything other than Ravenclaw, given how smart you are and the way you always have your nose buried in a book (she also says to tell you that she now accepts that Gryffindor is clearly the best House – I'm very offended by the fact that she refused to take my word for it – and that she hopes that you'll like the food at school, and that she can't wait to have you home for Christmas) …_

** 

Sirius Black is a very pale boy roughly the same height as Remus, with a heavy fringe of dark hair and eyes of such a clear shade of grey that even Remus (never really one for details) can't help but notice how striking they look. From what can be gleaned by the gossip in the hallways, a Black being sorted into anything other than Slytherin is virtually unprecedented – to the point that Remus briefly wonders if this could possibly be the reason behind his father's mysterious prejudice against the whole family (which if true would strike him as both unfair – Sirius himself made it into Gryffindor, after all – and slightly unreasonable, his personal dislike for Slytherin notwithstanding, especially given how mild-mannered and kind his father usually is). 

Sirius' own parents – according to what Remus hears him relay to James Potter while they walk to their very first Herbology lesson – are extremely disappointed with the Sorting Hat's decision. From the way he tells the story, it doesn't sound anything like the good-natured teasing that Remus' mum and dad engaged in over the summer, and Remus is appalled at the idea that other people's parents would be so harsh in response to something over which their children have basically no control. James offers such a rude assessment of Mr and Mrs Black's own character that Remus assumes Sirius is going to hit him, but – to Remus' great surprise – Sirius doubles over with laughter instead. 

** 

Sirius bumps James' inkwell with his elbow and sends it smashing to the ground, for the third time in as many Transfiguration lessons. Professor McGonagall is far from impressed. 

“Is there any particular reason why you should be quite so violent towards Potter's possessions, Black?” 

Sirius remains completely quiet, which Remus has learned is a very unusual thing for him to do. 

McGonagall studies him for a few more seconds, and then her expression softens slightly. 

“Is there anyone else here who's also left-handed?” she asks, surveying the classroom. 

Peter's hand shoots up. 

“Lupin is left-handed, Professor!” he reports, quite breathless with excitement at the idea of being able to provide the right answer for once. Remus wishes he had kept silent. 

McGonagall nods. 

“Very well,” she says, briskly. “Thank you. Black, come sit next to Lupin. Pettigrew, you go sit next to Potter. Hopefully, we can now resume our lesson without any further stationery casualties.” 

** 

Remus has a vague fear that Sirius will resent him for being, in a certain sense, the reason why he no longer gets to sit in the back with James, but Sirius seems to actually be very pleased at the idea of meeting a fellow left-handed person. 

“How come your hand isn't all smeared with ink?” he whispers, as soon as McGonagall turns to the blackboard. “Mine's always a mess.” 

“There's a spell, my dad taught me...” begins Remus, just as McGonagall turns back to the class. 

“Lupin!” she says, frowning at him. “I didn't mean for this to turn into an opportunity for Black to educate you about the art of class disruptance. Kindly stop talking, now, and pay attention to what I'm trying to teach you.” 

“Yes, Professor. I'm sorry,” says Remus, mortified. 

As soon as McGonagall turns her back to them once more, Sirius nudges Remus to get his attention. 

_I'm sorry_ , he mouths, grinning broadly. 

_Nevermind_ , replies Remus, grinning back at him. _I'll show you later_. 

** 

“Wales, originally, but we have to move around quite a bit – er, because of my father's job. You?” 

“London,” says Sirius, and then, in a tone of great curiosity. “Say, what happened to your arm?” 

Remus feels himself go scarlet. 

“I had an accident,” he says, pulling the sleeve of his school robes down over his scarred wrist. “When I was a child. I don't really want to talk about it, if it's all the same to you.” 

“Oh. All right,” says Sirius, brightly. “Do you like Quidditch? James won’t shut up about it. He says that he wants to try for the Gryffindor team as soon as he’s allowed to.” 

** 

On his first Sunday morning at school, Remus wakes up alone, confused and in a great amount of pain. It takes him a few seconds to remember: he's in the house that the Headmaster arranged for his transformations, and he has just survived his first full moon away from his parents. He doesn't dare look at the damage he's done during the night. He wishes his mum were there to hold him. 

A couple of hours later, sunlight filtering robustly through the cracks in the house's boarded windows, the school matron – Madam Pomfrey – walks into the room where Remus is curled up on the floor. 

“Good morning, dear,” she says, with a kind smile, as she bends down to examine a particularly vicious gash on the side of Remus' leg. “How did the night go?” 

** 

“Where were you?” asks Sirius, the moment Remus walks into their dorm the following evening. “You disappeared completely. I went to McGonagall two nights ago to tell her that you were missing, and she said that is was absolutely none of my business and to get back to bed before she gave me detention.” 

“You actually went to McGonagall to ask after me?” says Remus, partly worried by Sirius' line of inquiry, partly touched. 

“Yeah. So, where were you?” 

“My mother is ill,” says Remus, avoiding Sirius' gaze. “She was so unwell the other day that my father came and fetched me. She's better now.” he adds, straying from the script purely because it feels wrong to him to lie about his poor mum's health like that. 

Sirius' face falls. 

“I'm really sorry, Remus. I had no idea.” 

“It's all right. So, did you do anything fun over the weekend?” 

** 

It takes Sirius an embarassing amount of time, for Sirius' standards, to figure out Remus' secret. 

“I know why you disappear every month at the full moon,” he says, one October evening in their second year. To Remus' shock, he sounds thrilled rather than horrified. “You are _a werewolf_.” 

Remus freezes completely. He feels his heart thumping madly inside his chest. 

Sirius' face splits into an excited grin. 

“I knew it! Oh, Remus, this is brilliant. I can't wait to tell James. We’re going to have so much fun, I promise.” 

Remus’ mind flashes back to the letter his father sent him the previous year, warning him about Sirius.

_He had no idea_ , he thinks. _No idea at all._

And then, absurdly, he finds himself grinning back.

**Author's Note:**

> It randomly occured to me that for some reason I always write both Sirius and Remus as left-handed, which is weird, because I am not and it holds no special meaning for me.
> 
> This story is based entirely on this random bit of, uh, self-trivia!


End file.
